This invention relates to stringed musical instruments of the type, such as guitars, having an elongated neck along which extends a set of strings, and deals more particularly with a neck for such an instrument which is strengthened and stiffened to resist bending under string and other forces imposed thereon and to achieve other advantages.
The invention of this application may be applied to any stringed musical instrument of the type having a bridge, tailpiece or other anchor, and an elongated neck along which a set of strings, fixed to the tailpiece and passing over the bridge, extend to a nut and pegboard or the like at the outer end of the neck, the neck also serving by itself as a, or carrying a separate, fretted or unfretted fingerboard against which the strings are stopped to vary their lengths and consequently the pitch of the musical tones produced thereby. Examples of such instruments are guitars, banjos, mandolins, balalaikas, the violin family and lutes, among others. The invention is of particular value in the case of instruments having quite long necks, as do some present designs of electric bass guitars, and therefore, the invention is shown herein in association with such an instrument, but it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this situation and that it may be used with instruments having necks of any length.
In instruments of the type mentioned, the strings pull on the outer end of the neck and tend to bend it forwardly or in such direction as to increase the spacing between the strings and the fingerboard. Conventionally, instrument necks are made of single pieces of wood and in the past various different schemes have been proposed to reinforce such neck against bending under the influence of the string tension. One well known reinforcing means consists of a steel or other metal reinforcing rod received in a longitudinally extending groove formed in the rear portion of the neck, the groove having a convex bottom surface against which the rod bears and the rod being held in tension so as to apply a force against the bottom surface of the groove tending to bend the neck in a direction opposite to the bend imposed by the strings. This type of reinforcement is quite effective in some cases, but the tension rod does add substantial weight to the instrument, which sometimes may be objectionable, and the degree of strength or stiffness added by the tension rod is also sometimes not sufficient to satisfy high quality standards. The tension rod usually has a head or other stop at one end and a nut threaded onto its other end with the wood of the neck being compressed between the head and the nut. After the strings are strung on the instrument and tensioned to their desired open string pitches, the nut of the tension rod may be adjusted to cause the tension rod to so balance the bending of the neck by the strings as to bring the spacing between the strings and the fingerboard to a desired value. However, for various reasons, such as changes in the length of the neck wood due to humidity changes, the tension rod may not hold the adjusted spacing between the strings and the fingerboard for long periods of time.
In general, the object of the invention is to provide a construction for the neck of a stringed musical instrument whereby the neck is stronger, stiffer and more rigid than previous necks. Among subsidiary advantages achieved by this improved neck strength and stiffness is the achievement of a better tone in the output of the instrument. That is, the stiffer neck results in less of the energy of a vibrating string being absorbed by the neck and, therefore, gives the tone produced by the vibrating string a longer sustain and a more constant harmonic content throughout the length of the sustain than in previous instruments. Also, the stiffer neck in addition to resisting bending of the neck by string forces also resists bending of the neck due to forces exerted on it by a musician during playing of the instrument and thereby minimizes changes in the pitch of the strings due to such bending.
Another object of the invention is to make an instrument neck of the foregoing character which is extremely stable under changes in humidity and other environmental conditions which tend to have an adverse effect on necks of previous constructions.
Another object of the invention is to provide a musical instrument neck of the foregoing character which may be made of a relatively light weight. In keeping with this object, the invention allows, if desired, the elimination of a metal tension rod in the neck and also allows the main body or portion of the neck to be made of a material, such as a low density wood or a structural foamed plastic, having a density lower than that of the wood previously conventionally used.
Another object of the invention is to provide a neck of the foregoing character including a tension rod enabling adjustment of the string-fingerboard spacing and having an improved ability to hold a given adjustment over a long period of time despite changes in humidity and other environmental conditions.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon reference to the following detailed description and to the drawings forming a part hereof.